THE FOURTH of JULY STARTS HERE:

...with THE BEACH BOYS!  Because folks my age will always remember their mammoth July 4th concerts at the Washington Monument -- as with these 1980 takes o­n "Good Vibrations",  "Catch A Wave" and "Do It Again." Given the time of year, I have to include this 1964 clip of "Surfin' U.S.A." which I think is from the same gig that produced these takes on "Little Deuce Coupe," "In My Room" and "Fun, Fun Fun." Their take on "Dance, Dance, Dance" from Shindig! later that year is like a slice of Christmas in July.  There's also a nifty twofer of "I Get Around" and "'When I Grow Up (To Be A Man)" from their first UK TV appearance o­n Ready Steady Go! The Jack Benny Hour produced these quick takes o­n "Barbara Ann" and "California Girls."  There's a primitive video for "Wouldn't It Be Nice" that starts with a cameo from Brian Wilson's dogs (Banana and Louie), who appear at the end of the Pet Sounds LP.  And I'll finish with a live version of "God Only Knows" from the 1967 European tour -- one of the last Brian would do for a decade or so.

RAY CHARLES performs "America The Beautiful" like no one else.

21 HYPERBOLIC PRO-AMERICA SONGS, starting with Lee Greenwood (Sylvia's favorite) and ending with the theme from Team America: World Police, with embedded video courtesy of The A.V. Club.

THE STAR-SPANGLED BANNER: Hidden Track serves up 12 video versions.

TWENTY QUESTIONS from US citizenship tests, as asked on the official United States Immigration and Naturalization Services Web site.  I had a perfect score (because I am a geek), but had to guess on one of them.

THE FEELIES got back together this week, with a gig in NYC today.  But they got things rolling at the legendary Maxwell's in Hoboken NJ.  The NYT's Jon Pareles has not one, but two articles on their return. Video has surfaced from the private warm-up gig of "Let's Go," "Slipping (into something)," "Raised Eyebrows" and "Away."  A little further back in the crowd come clips of "Doin' It Again," the new song "Time is Right" (w/ cowbell!) and the Stones' "Paint It Black." Not as physically hyper as their heyday, but still with chemistry to burn.

THE UNITED STATES celebrates the 232nd anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence, declaring independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain. As the Wikipedia notes, this is a little arbitrary: New Englanders had been fighting Britain since April 1775; the first motion in the Continental Congress for independence was made o­n June 8th; and the Congress voted 12-0 for independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain o­n July 2nd. Even so, the publication of the Declaration was momentous .  If you're not in DC, the best way to see and learn about the Declaration may be through the Charters of Freedom website. But you can watch Mel Gibson, Michael Douglas, Renee Zelleweger, Kevin Spacey, Wynona Ryder and other Hollywood folk read the Declaration, after a short introduction by Morgan Freeman.

Of course, the holiday more broadly celebrates the American Revolutionary War, and the Founders' unlikely victory. People with the highest standard of living and the lowest taxes in the Western World fought a sometimes unpopular war for our freedom. Early o­n, the Revolutionaries (also known as "Americans" or "Patriots") had the active support of about 40 to 45 percent of the colonial population. By 1779, there were more Americans fighting with the British than with Washington, which is why Washington needed help from the French, the Spanish and freed Blacks. You can separate fact from fiction regarding the sacrifices and fates of the Founders at Snopes. You can hear two-time Pulitzer Prize winner David McCullough read from the first chapter of his 1776 via NPR.

CUTOUT BIN:  Joan Jett leads this Friday's fortuitous finds for the Fourth, which include Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Lou Reed, Funkadelic, Smoking Popes, the Modern Lovers, the Lovin' Spoonful, Devo and more -- all of which can be jukeboxed or streamed separately via the Pate page at the ol' HM.

SHOWBIZ in BRIEF: Christina Applegate's on-again, off-again boyfriend Lee Grivas was found dead in his Hollywood apartment Tuesday. Lindsay Lohan turned 22 Wednesday night with an intimate prom-themed birthday bash - and a sweet smooch from Samantha Ronson; Lohan's b-day wish was for paparazzi to go away and to be with the person she cares about. Christie Brinkley used one word in her sob-wracked testimony today to describe her life after her husband's philandering and porn obsession was exposed: - "Nightmare."  Hubby Peter Cook thought "Shrek was more believable." Lenny Kravitz is denying reports of an affair with Alex Rodriguez's wife, Cynthia, who has strong suspicions about her estranged husband's friendship with Madonna.  Amy Winehouse has been put under "house arrest" after admitting taking drugs in rehab. Britney Spears is said to have reconciled with ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib because she fears him releasing a secret sex tape.

TWIGGY: For the Fourth of July, why not another look at the water-skiing squirrel? Great story. Compelling and rich.